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port of embarkation ... With a great hush-hush we descended upon the unknown" camp which was to be our staging area for the lon The processing consisted of security lectures, ship drills, physical conditioning, re-outfitting, recreation, and shots for We made good use of our passes to San Francisco, Oakland, and the other neighboring cities and soon
found the best points of interest. Such places as "Top of the Mark", "Fairmont", "Joe DiMaggio's", and many others, were quickly overrun by Amphibians. It was our On 11 March the Boat Battalion, less Company C, boarded the steamship "River Queen" for the trip to the San Francisco piers. There they boarded the USAT "Sea Barb " which was to carry them to some undisclosed port in the Pacific. Company C had started ten days earlier on the USAT "Sea Witch", and Colonel Falkner and Captain Cross had already departed by plane to trade with the natives for a parking place for our outfit. Finally, on 1 May, Regimental Hdqs. and the Shore Battalion, under the Command of Lt. Col. Carl Y. Farrell, marched to the
ferry "S.S. Catalina" docked at Pittsburg. We The 594th, well equipped but still untried, was coming over. to join the scrap. Where were the "Sea Barb", the "Sea Witch" and the "Sea Devil" taking us and what would we find there? |
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g ocean voyage ahead. Some of us spent only 5 days at Stoneman while others almost wore
out their welcome by being starboarders for two weeks. The chow-hounds had a field day here, and there wasn't a single one of us who didn't secretly envy the camp personnel.
everything but homesickness. We even took an
"Air-Borne" outfit in stride and still kept our boots polished.
last chance to drink deeply of life amidst such colorful settings as
heavypiled rugs, soft lights, and everything that goes with it; our last chance to enjoy a movie in cushioned seats ; our last chance to slake our thirst with something better than "jungle
juice"; our last chance to look at American beauties in dresses; our last chance, to munch on an American hamburger with all the trimmings.
were greeted by a
military band in gay Hollywood style. Shortly we were underway, headed for our troopship which was waiting at the Oakland Army Base Pier. We boarded the USAT "Sea Devil" after a last double
portion of Red Cross doughnuts and hot coffee. In the morning we sailed out under the famous Golden Gate bridge. Sure, there were some of us whose eyes moistened as the last view of
our country grew dim and finally faded out of sight.